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 Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 7:11 pm
When he called his mother, he could hear the girls nattering something fierce in the background. It sounded like she was in a war zone over on her end, and Benji felt genuinely sorry for her.
“I’m sorry, Benji boy,” Came the exhasperated sigh, “Ah can’t make it down thar, got a crisis on mah hands here. Y’ALL SHUT UP, PLEASE! I’m talkin’ to yer brother.”
“Benji! It wasn’t my fault!” That was Peggy-Sue, the youngest, and now he was pretty sure she had everything to do with what was going on at the house. With his father’s absence into all hours of the night, he was now man of the household, and it was him the girls would have to answer to when he got home. If he got home. The way this was going now...
“Can yew get a ride from one of the coaches or yer teammates, dahrlin?”
Benji cast an eye over the empty lot, watching the coach pulling off onto the main road. If he ran, maybe he could catch the truck, but he was tired. Bone tired after practice today. Everyone else had gone- he’d been the last one around. He moved the speaker away from his mouth and sighed. It was only about five miles away from home, maybe four if he took the shortcut through the alleys.
”Yeah ma. I’ll be home soon.”
”Thank ya, baby. I’m sorry.”
Benji flicked his phone shut and stuffed both his hands in his pockets. The night was cool and crisp, but he was still warm from the showers. With his hair damp, it’d probably get to him soon, but by that time, hopefully, he could be halfway home. Benji wasn’t afraid of the dark or the streets. Sure, you heard a lot these days about people disappearing, about mysterious vigilantes smashing each other around and girls turning up broken, bloody, or dead. Being a young, but strapping male, Benji didn’t think he really fit the profile for any sort of trouble. One of the good things about being his size was that people usually looked his way and thought twice about picking a fight. Now he wandered down the cracked sidewalk just outside the solemn figure of Meadowview high, passing in good time beneath the dusty light of the streetlamps. In his head, he was running over what he would be having to deal with when he got home as far as his rascally sisters went. Also, his model SE5A Balsa was just waiting for him to come put the finishing touches on it. All he needed to do was sand it to an ultimately smooth finish and he could set the motor in it. With any luck, he could take it to the public soccer fields after church Sunday and fly it. These thoughts and more played across his head and the night didn't seem inclined to bother him. It was almost odd how quiet it was, actually.
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:05 pm
Virgo spent her days in class, did her homework, visited her brother, and then patrolled at night. And, in the evening twilight, she was waiting for her buddy for the night to meet her when she spotted a single boy walking home alone. Now, he looked fit, and she wouldn't have been worried about him, except he seemed preoccupied and her buddy was late and there had been exceptional youma activity around here lately so--
So she pushed off the warm rooftop she'd been sitting down and slid lightly down the tiling. Hup, she said, catching herself on the edge and then leaning over to catch herself on her toes. Her shoes clicked against concrete as she caught up to the boy--gosh, but he was tall, lots taller than she was. Was she sure he needed help?... She snagged his arm anyway, fingers curling around the meat of his bicep carefully. One must never, ever hurt the civilians.
"Hello," she said, trying an uncertain smile up at the tall boy. "I'm Sailor Virgo, do you need a walk home, mister?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 10:03 pm
Her hand could have been the touch of a butterfly upon a stone, small as it seemed against his arm. Still, Benji's skin twitched in surprise as the rest of the boy jumped with it, his head turning to obligingly face her even as his feet put him to a halt. Honey-brown eyes blinked once to acknowledge her question before a slight, but warm smile was sent out to reassure the shaky one she offered. He actually looked... a little amused. When he spoke, it was in a gentle, if somewhat awkward tone.
"Well ma'am, pardon me fer sayin', but yer not like any seadog I've seen." And Benji had seen lots. Of photos. This Virgo character looked nothing like the sturdy men and woman in their white and blue uniforms. Actually, she looked quite frail in her little skirt. Here she was, though, offering to walk him home? If he were more of a rude person, he would have laughed at her.
"I don't need anyone minding me, darlin', but yer welcome to walk with me all the same," He'd offer, "I'm Benji." Maybe this was just her way of asking him for help?
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 10:23 pm
Seadog? She tilted her head, placing a gloved finger on her lower lip. Would that be closer to a dog at sea, or a dog of the sea, like a catfish? "I'm not a fish," she said, deciding that she was affronted at this comparison. How dare he say she was a fish! Virgo was not fishy at all!
Still, her apparent indignation didn't last long. Instead, she linked both hand around his elbow like they were at some sort of dance, her heels clicking against the concrete. "It is very good to meet you, Benji," she said solemnly, her green eyes wide and innocent. "Except it is bad to walk home at night by yourself, monsters will get you. Only not me, I'm not a monster, I'm a good senshi." A strong nod, hard enough that her circlet fell over her eyes and she sighed, a little pft! of air escaping as she freed one hand to push it back up her forehead.
"Why are you outside, Benji? It's dark out." She seemed pretty fixated on that fact. "I promise not to mind you but I am going to walk with you, because it is dark out."
Yeah. Pretty fixated.
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Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:51 pm
Just how old was this girl, anyway? His lips would draw thin as she made a protest against being a fish. While Benji hadn't meant to suggest anything of the like, he had no idea why a sailor would find it an insult. Wouldn't they think it was a compliment, to be compared to a creature that thrived in water? It was when she said 'Senshi', though, that his mind snapped into realization.
"Yer part of that gang that's been on the news..." He pointed out, not seeming to mind how she seemed to clutch at him. Perhaps Virgo had meant it to be a gesture that put her in control over him, but he simply saw it as one of escort on his behalf. He got a decent amount of publicity from his inclusion in highschool sports and while a girl touching him this way was not commonplace, it wasn't very new either.
"Listen, Miss Virgo, I've been walkin' in the dark before," Benji had decided to humor her, because it was generally beyond him to be blunt, especially with a member of the fairer sex, "It ain't so bad, really.”
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Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 3:28 pm
Gang? He thought she was a member of a gang? Was he gonna be mad at her or something, she wondered, and gave him a look. This was a look meant to communicate something profound, doubtless, but it just looked like a confused teenage girl. One that was attempting to decide if she had made a good choice, doubtless. Well.
"Sort of," she said. "Those are Lunar senshi. I'm a Zodiac soldier, which is close but not." She offered no further explanation except to look back to the tips of her toes.
Sure, it wasn't bad to walk at night, but the monsters kept getting stronger. So it was bad to be alone. What if you got attacked and knocked out? (The hypocrisy of being alone herself was mostly ignored.) "That's okay. I'll walk with you anyway."
She tilted her head a bit. "Why do you walk after dark, anyway, Benji? I don't like the dark."
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 6:28 pm
"Ah don't really care what chapter of a gang yer from or whatever, miss, no offense meant. Ah jest don't want any trouble, ahlright?" Those soft brown eyes looked down at the girl on his arm rather intently at that, both emphasizing his point and searching for answers. He was having a hard time trying to think of her as a potential threat. If she had a gun on her, though, then... "Heck, I dunno why a sweet little thang lahk yew'd be runnin' around with that type'a trouble. Don't you got a mama waitin' on yew back home?"
Usually Benji didn't see it as his place to tell anyone what to do, but it was the troublesome thought of a family waiting up on this Virgo girl (must be her 'hood' name or something) that pushed him to say even that much. He wasn't beyond voicing his opinion, after all, and it wasn't like he was going to force anything at her, but... He genuinely did want to know why anyone would go and do a thing like that to their real family.
"Well now, if ya don't like it, why're ya out?" He frowned somewhat at her. Then, reluctantly, he began to walk toward the way he knew as home. "Ah had an appointment that ran over late, s'all."
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 10:54 pm
She frowned at him. "I'm not part of a gang," she protested, bouncing a little--enough to show there wasn't anything but girl under her green babydoll dress--to emphasize her point. How could anyone think she was a gangster? Virgo tried to picture herself dressed up all gangsta, as she had heard it called.
It didn't work, she thought. It was the hat that killed it.
"Maman's in France," she said, "or maybe Switzerland now. Her friend is sad, so she's staying there for a while." But she was turning red and looking off like ashamed. Maman and Papa would be so angry at her if they knew she was off being a vigilante. But it was important to protect citizens, even really tall and intimidating citizens like Benji.
She would have been quite content to stay quiet and walk next to Benji til he got home. Only then he had to ask the question. "Because I have to be. It is my job to protect citizens from monsters. You're a citizen, so I have to protect you."
Duh.
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Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 5:46 pm
"Miss Virgo, all due respect, but anyone who runs around in a group stirrin' up trouble is a gang." Why was she bouncing? She was just happy, he supposed.
"Ah see... So yer all by yer lonesome? That ain't real fair..." Downright sad, actually, and it totally explained why Virgo was part of a gang. He had often heard that kids decided to join gangs because they were like their own sort of family. Her next statement brought him blinking back into reality, and for a moment, Benji was not able to stifle the chuckle that welled up in the back of his throat. His mother would have slapped him and he immediately felt sorry. Seems like he'd finally acknowledged the message she was putting out- she was trying to protect him.
"Ahlright, dahrlin'. I think it's mighty kind of ya to extend tha gesture to me, and lord knows I appreciate the company, but I don't need protectin'. See this here stick?" He shifted his bag so that she could see the lacrosse pole, sticking somewhat out with its net apparent. "That's solid wood. If I can't fend it off with my fists, best believe that'll do the trick to make a... a 'monster' disinterested in me. What do you got?"
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 12:03 pm
It wasn't worth arguing with him, she decided. She knew she didn't cause trouble, she stopped trouble. Ladies, after all, did not start fights. Neither did Zodiac soldiers. Well, that was all right. He was a civilian and so could not be told very much. Virgo definitely agreed being all alone like she was was definitely not fair. But she did have Grayson and the Zodiac and Dad and Pop and Tristan. She was not frighteningly alone like she could be. It was all right.
"They'd eat the stick," she said, her green eyes calm and breezy, like what she was saying was common knowledge. "Gemini A would say the youma would nom it. I like Gemini A." She smiled at Benji, smiled at his lacrosse stick, at the night sky. "I am strong, and fast, and magical." Sort of like a vampire from that book series, Twilight. Only Virgo did not want to drink Benji's blood or steal his starseed or anything. She just wanted to make sure he made it home all safe and sound to call other senshi gangsters another day.
It was a good goal, right? "I could show you but I don't wanna break another street lamp."
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